Photos and video · Local
Photos and video around Antioch: worth the drive?
Written for families in and around Antioch, who mostly want to know whether it is worth the drive.
For a parent with a phone, the useful thing to know is where to stand: at the rail level with the crate, or at the boards where the cars come back round.
The nearest of the two centres to Antioch is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Getting there
The clips on the site were filmed in the rooms as they are. What is on the screen is what is in the room.
The site keeps a gallery of clips from both rooms - a bucket coming up full, a car spinning on the ice, first laps that end in a laugh.
What you will find
Video works better than stills here. The interesting part is always the movement - the swing of a cable, the spin of a car.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
How long to allow
For a parent with a phone, the useful thing to know is where to stand: at the rail level with the crate, or at the boards where the cars come back round.
The clips on the site were filmed in the rooms as they are. What is on the screen is what is in the room.
Worth the trip?
The site keeps a gallery of clips from both rooms - a bucket coming up full, a car spinning on the ice, first laps that end in a laugh.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
Questions parents ask
Can I film my child?
Parents film constantly. Be considerate of other families in the frame.
Where can I see what it looks like?
The video gallery on the site shows both rooms.
What are the opening hours?
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
Planning your visit in Antioch
A Antioch school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
Bring less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
If one child is nervous, let them watch for the first ten minutes without being asked to join in. Almost all of them join in.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Antioch. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
The practical details
- XCAV ZONE — 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214: four child-operated machines over a ball pit.
- ICE PARK — 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027: a real rink with bumper cars on the ice.
- Opening hours — 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
- Phone — +1 (424) 387-6232 · +1 (615) 968-4925
- E-mail — info@newlife-entertainment.com
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.